Door-operating mechanism



April 8 1924. 1,490,065

H. G. AINS WORTH noon OPERATING MECHANISM Filled NOV- 24. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet I j'l/ n for 707 261.935: Z/Zny @lizwumrfk,

April 8 .1924.

v H. G. -AINSSWORTH noon OPERATING MECEANISM F l Nov} 24. 1922 a Sheets-55991.2

Patented Apr. 8, 192%.

nanny e. AINSWOBTH, orknivrnann, INDIANA.

DOOR-OYER-ATING MECHANISM.

Application filed November 24, 1922. Serial No. 602,955.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, HARRY G. Ai'NswonTH, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Kentland, in the county of Newton and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the reference characters marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to'nieans for opening and closing doors and principally hinged garage doors.

The object of the invention is to produce an apparatus, positive in its operation and yet simple in its construction and relatively cheap to manufacture and install.

The attainment offthe stated object involves a motor "driven sprocket pinion or gear adapted: to operate an endless sprocket chain supported upon a swinging arm, one link of the chain being pivotally united to the door to be opened or closed, and an electric circuit for supplying current to the motor'from any suitable'source of supply, together with switches in the circuit.

The invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated one embodiment of the invention.

In said drawings,

Fig. 1 is an inside elevation of a pair of hinged doors in a door frame, to which my device is applied, showing the doors open, inwardly.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal or plan sectional view of the same, the section being taken in the plane of the dotted line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top'or plan view,enlarged, of

the slotted bracket on the swinging door,

showing in section the pin on the sprocket engaged in the'slot. Y

Fig at is a perspective view, enlarged, of said bracket and one link of the sprocket chain, by which link the chain is operatively engaged with the bracket. I

Fig. 5 is a central, vertical sectional view through the motor driven gears, showing the means for connecting same in operativ' relation.

In said drawings, A, A are two doors hinged at 1 to the sidemembers 2 of a door frame'or wall opening of a building, so as to swing or open inwardly. M is a motor of any suitable type, electrically connected in a circuit, indicated by lines 0, C, said motor being suitably secured by a bracket 2 above the doors to any fixed support, such as a wall 4.

The motor shaft is provided with a worm .5 adapted to actuate a worm gear 6, the latter beingloosely mounted upon a shaft 7 rotatively mounted in the bracket 3. Upon said shaft 7 are keyed two sprocket wheels 8 and 9, one above and one below the worm gear '6. The wheel 9 may be coupled to the worm gear 6 by any suitable means, such as the removable bolt 10, shown more clearly in Fig. 5. The gear 6 and wheel 9 remain, normally, coupled so as to be rotated by the motor, but are disconnectedby withdrawing the bolt 9 when it is desired to operate the doors manually, as for example when the motor requires repairing or the current for actuating the motor is out off for any reason. 1

Upon the bracket dis mounted one end of an arm D, so arranged as to pivot or swing about the axis of the shaft 7 as a center, the weight of the 'arm being sustained by any suitablemeans, such for example as a strut or tie rod 11., connecting the outer end of the arm D with an apertured lug 12 on the bracket '3. The outer or free end of the arm D is provided with a rotatable sprocketwheel 13,01? the same size as the sprocket wheel 8, and located in the same plane. About the two sprocket wheels 8 and 18 is passed an endless sprocket chain 14%, which will travel continuously in the same direction when the motor is in operation, since the latterwill rotate in one direction only. I

Upon the inside of the door A, near its top margin, is mounted a bracket 14 pro vided with a projecting lug 16 having an elongated slot 17, the parallel side walls of which extend in a plane parallel with the "face of the door. Upon one link only, of the sprocket chain 14, is fixedly secured a downwardly projecting pin 'or' bolt 19 of a size adapted to project into and travel chain moving with and as part of the chain, will by reason of the pin 19 and its slotted bracket connection 15, 16, 17, pull the door towards the motor, into the closed position,

the pivotal arm D swinging easily so that its position relative to the door will constantly change. Any automatic device, of which there are many on the market, may be. utilized for stopping the motor at the end of the movement. To open the door and swing it back to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the motor is switched on and will rotate in the same direction as before, when the chain link 18 will travel back on the other side of the arml), and by its pin 19 connection with the door bracket 15, actuate the door A. The purpose of the slot 17 is to permit the pin 19 to shift its position from one side of the arm Dto the other, and pass over the dead center at the end of each-movement. The lengthel the slot'17 will be determined, of course, by the diameteror pitch of the sprocket gears 8', 13.

A similar unit may be applied to the door A, but it is usually best to actuate the sprocket chains of a pair of doors with a single motor. One means of accomplishing this isshown in Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the shaft 7 of the bracket 3 on each door A, A, is lengthened so as to carry a second sprocket gear 20. The two gears 19, 19, are then connected by the sprocket chain 21. It follows, by thus connecting the operating units on doors A and A, by the chain 21, said doors will move in unison to open or close, as the case may be.

The device above described is very simple, is operated by the mere turning on of a switch in the motor circuit, is positive in its operation, has no complicated parts to get out of order, and is quite cheap to construct and install.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device for opening and closing hinged doors, comprising a hinged door, a bracket mounted on a fixed support, a swingable arm mounted at one end on said bracket, a rotatable sprocket gear on each end of said arm, a sprocket chain on said gears, an electrically driven motor on the bracket and operative connections between the motor shaft and one sprocket gear, the door being operatively connected to the sprocket chain.

2. A device for opening and closing hinged doors, comprising a hinged door, a bracket mounted on; a fixed support, a swingablearm mounted atone end on said bracket, a rotatable sprocket gear on each end ofsaidarm, a sprocket chain on said gears, an electrically driven motor on the bracket and operative connections between the motor shaft and one sprocket gear, the sprocket chain-- being connected with the door by means which shifts its position with respect to the arm as the chain moves along the arm.

3. ,A device for opening and closing hinged doors, comprising a hinged door, a bracket mounted on a fixed support, a swingable arm mounted at one end on said bracket, a rotatable sprocket gear on each end of said arm, a sprocket chain on said gears, an electrically driven motor 011 the bracket and operative connections between the motor shaftand one sprocket gear, one of the links of the sprocket chain being operatively connected with the door.

4. A device for opening and closing hinged doors, comprising a hinged door, a bracket mounted on a fixed support, a swingable arm mounted at one end on said bracket, a rotatable sprocket gear on each end of said arm, asprocket chain on said gears, an electricallydriven motor on the bracket, operative connections between the motor shaft and one sprocket gear, a slotted bracket on the door and a pin on one of the sprocket chain links adapted to work in the slot of said bracket.

5. A device for opening and closing hingeddoors, comprising a hinged door, a bracket mounted on a fixed support, a swingable arm mounted at one. end on said bracket, a rotatable sprocket gear on each end of said arm, a sprocket chain 011 said gears, an electrically driven motor on the bracket, operative connections between the motor shaft and one sprocket gear and means for disconnecting the same, the door being operatively connected to: the sprocket chain.

6. An apparatus for operating two doors hinged to a fixed support, comprising an operating unit for each door consisting of a bracket adapted to be secured to the support and a slotted bracket adapted to; be secured to the door, an arm swingingly mounted on the first mentioned bracket, a pair of sprocket gears on the arm, a sprocket chain on the gears, a movable connection between the sprocket chain and the door bracket, one of said units being connected with each door, a motor for driving the sprocket gears of one unit, a second sprocket gear on each unit and a sprocket chain ru ning on said last mentioned sprocket gears, whereby both units are driven from the same motor.

7. 'In an apparatus for operating hinged doors comprising a motor mounted, on a fixed support, an arm pivotally mounted, sprocket gears and a sprocketchain on said arm, a movable connection between the chain and the door, gear connections be tween the motor and one of the sprocket gears to operate the latter and means for disconnecting said operative gear connections, said; means including arotatable shaft, a motor rotatable WO1111 gear loosely presence of tWo Witnesses, this 10th day of mounted on said shaft, one of the sprocket November, 1922.

gears being fixed to rotate with said shaft, and a removable pin engaging the Worm gear and one of the sprocket gears.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix my signature, in the HARRY G. AINSWORTH.

Witnesses TAYLOR E. BROWN, B. L. MACGREGOR. 

